


Ten Things that Happened Because of the Rain

by r_lee



Category: Samurai Champloo
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-22
Updated: 2010-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 23:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/143013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r_lee/pseuds/r_lee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten 100-word scenes regarding Shino and Jin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ten Things that Happened Because of the Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> A treat for you.

He never knew how to cook eel. Odd that the basics of such a simple task could elude one who wielded a katana with such dangerous efficiency: Jin could slice and dice human prey into any required number of pieces, but the task of doing the same to an eel who had never caused him the least bit of harm was daunting, to say the least. Shino made it look easy and he would have learned better were he not unable to take his eyes from her face as she worked. That realization was far too dangerous; he ignored it.

*

 _Give me all your money._ Whatever needed to be done, he would do it gladly if it meant he could spend more time with the woman who made his heart sing with happiness. For her he would endure any humiliation, any discomfort, any taunting. For her, he would endure an entire mob of pursuers. He'd never felt this for any single woman before, although he would admit if pressed that a small handful had come close to evoking the same feeling in him. But when he tried and failed to forget, it was always because Shino's face occupied his thoughts.

*

No longer a disgrace in the eyes of the brothel owner, he flaunted Mugen's hard-earned coin and bought his passage for the night. The first half was spent in quiet conversation and self-restraint, but somewhere in the night he gave up on denying himself what he wanted. Their lovemaking was measured and sweet and satisfying and (he thought) filled with the promise of something more. During his life he had paid on numerous occasions for the privilege of time with women, but they were nothing like this. Come morning, with the dawn's light filtering in, he knew he wanted more.

*

If anything could be said about Mugen, it was that he would never in his wildest imaginings say no to fighting. Despite his grumbling about having to wake up for _this,_ his blade cut with as deadly a precision as ever and, confident in Mugen's abilities, Jin led Shino through back alleys to the waiting boat. His heart was less heavy than expected and lifting her onto the boat felt more like relief than the burdensome weight of an uncertain farewell. Her words to her no-longer-husband made his heart swell with pride, although pride did not show on his face.

*

In his dreams, she reached for him and he reached back.

In his dreams, he joined her on the boat.

In his dreams, she did not have to stay on the island for three years.

In his dreams they explained the situation and in his dreams they stole off together, disguised as common peasants, retracing the steps he and Mugen and Fuu took back to familiar lands, but only to the few places they had not left rife with destruction.

In his dreams, they settled in a town and raised eel, selling them on the streets to all who hungered.

*

Three years was a very long time, and time had a way of changing people. Still, with every step he took, his heart beat her name: _Shino. Shino. Shino._ Disguised this time, eyeglasses long since discarded as unnecessary vanity, he borrowed a boat to take him across the waters to the sanctuary. Men were not allowed, but he would be. Duly, he had waited his turn for this moment and when he stepped from the boat onto solid land alone and unhurried, he moved toward the door with an unshakable resolve. He knocked once, twice, three times, and waited patiently.

*

"You came back." The words sat between them like weights, though not unwelcome ones.

"I did." Centuries might have passed and he wouldn't know: she was every bit as luminescent and beautiful as he remembered. "I have counted the days."

Her face shone, previously-unremembered lines more evident but still, she was lovely and still, his heart beat her name. "I did at first." Now honesty settled around them uncomfortably. "Three years is a long time, and I have no shortage of gratitude for what you did. But I need to stay here to help others."

"Hmm." Eyes closed, he nodded.

*

It had been a long time since he'd picked up his swords, but it felt right. For her, he would settle. For the woman who taught him the patience required to catch and cook eel, he would do anything. If his dreams of the past three years taught him anything, it was that the price of everything was negotiable and that included the price of his pride. Arm in arm, he let her show him the vast and lovely courtyard garden. In the back stood a caretaker's hut, graced by a deep pond.

"Are there eel in there?"

Shino laughed.

*

When their past finally caught up with them, the form it took was unsurprising. That there had been raids from the mainland wasn't anything difficult to accept; men were prone to forcing themselves on women and also prone to trying to reclaim what they deemed their property. This time, met unexpectedly by a dual sword-wielding Samurai and a property full of well-trained women, none were left to limp back home and incite more trouble. Together, Jin and Shino loaded bodies back onto the boat and sent them off across the bay. The men from the mainland didn't trouble them again.

*

"I'll cook for you." It was an old offer; Shino always declined. This time, however, she agreed. The pungent odor of fried eel invaded the courtyard. Across the way, one of the newer arrivals waved to them from behind the safety of her fan. She still moved like one who had been wounded, but time would heal that.

In their own kitchen, Jin expertly gutted and cooked eel for the one he'd come to refer to as his wife. From behind, Shino caught him in an unexpected embrace. "I thought you'd never learn."

"Imagine that." Uncharacteristically, he smiled. "Your dinner."

*


End file.
